1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a primer set for amplifying target sequence(s) of twelve respiratory disease-causing bacterial species, a probe or probe set specifically hybridizing with target sequence(s) of twelve respiratory disease-causing bacterial species, a microarray immobilized with the probe or probe set, and a method of detecting one or more of twelve respiratory disease-causing bacterial species using the probe or probe set.
2. Description of the Related Art
Probes for the detection of respiratory disease-associated bacteria are currently known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,654 discloses hybridization assay probes for Haemophilus influenzae comprised of an oligonucleotide of about 14-18 nucleotides. U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,718 discloses oligonucleotides selectively hybridizing with a specific gene (e.g., the entE gene) of Staphylococcus aureus. U.S. Pat. No. 6,001,564 discloses primers or probes specific to Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermis, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis. 
In spite of the above-described conventional techniques, no primer sets capable of amplifying target sequences found in respective specific virulence factor genes of twelve bacterial species known to be associated with respiratory disease are reported. Furthermore, no probes specific to the target sequences of the virulence factor genes of the twelve bacterial species are reported.
Two single strands of a nucleic acid comprised of nucleotides hybridize to form a double helical structure in which the two polynucleotide chains running in opposite directions are held together by hydrogen bonds between matched base pairs. In a case where a first single strand of a nucleic acid is sufficiently complementary to a second single strand of the nucleic acid, the two single strands are held together under conditions that promote their hybridization, thereby resulting in double-stranded nucleic acid. Under appropriate conditions, DNA/DNA, RNA/DNA, or RNA/RNA hybrids may be formed.
Broadly, there are two fundamental nucleic acid hybridization procedures. In one procedure, known as “in-solution” hybridization, both a “probe” nucleic acid sequence and a nucleic acid molecule of a test sample are free in solution. In the other procedure, the probe nucleic acid is usually immobilized on a solid substrate and the nucleic acid sequence of the test sample is free in solution.
A probe may be a single-stranded nucleic acid sequence which is complementary in some particular degree to a nucleic acid sequence (“target sequence”) sought to be detected. A probe may be labeled. The use of nucleic acid hybridization as a procedure for the detection of particular nucleic acid sequences is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,330, and No. 5,288,611, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein in their entireties by reference.